


We Both Know What We Need - Thiam

by songbvrd



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Fake Dating, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mild smut?, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Pining, Theo POV, Theo Raeken is Liam Dunbar's Anchor, Theo is in love, unrequited love (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbvrd/pseuds/songbvrd
Summary: "Liam Dunbar was an idiot.Theo already knew that, obviously. It was just that Liam Dunbar was his idiot. He seemed not to know that, but it didn’t change anything for Theo, because he absolutely was. Everyone else knew that. He had seen the knowing looks from Scott, he had faced threats from Malia, the slowly decreasing suspicion from Mason and Corey.The only problem was, despite all of that, he and Liam weren’t actually a couple."When Liam gets invited to a family wedding, he invites Theo as his fake date. Everyone already thinks they're dating, except Liam.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 30
Kudos: 168





	1. We Both Know What We Need

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! This is only part 1 of 2! I will be posting the second part as soon as I write it (which will be soon bc the muse is high!) This is not at all where I thought this was going to go, but what can I say? My boys are a disaster. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Based on the prompts "How did everyone know I had a boyfriend before me" (still to come) and "fake dating/sharing a bed" (partly still to come).

Liam Dunbar was an idiot.

Theo already knew that, obviously. It was just that Liam Dunbar was his idiot. He seemed not to know that, but it didn’t change anything for Theo, because he absolutely was. Everyone else knew that. He had seen the knowing looks from Scott, he had faced threats from Malia, the slowly decreasing suspicion from Mason and Corey.

The only problem was, despite all of that, he and Liam weren’t actually a couple.

They were roommates. Roommates who spent nearly every waking second together. Roommates who frequently fell asleep together. Roommates who had hooked up on more than one occasion…

That was always fun. The way Liam would avoid his eyes the next day, the way he’d act like nothing had ever happened, the way he’d always find someone to go on a blind date with within the fucking hour. Theo wasn’t going to pretend he was enjoying that whole process either, but he didn’t have a ton of options. 

He was long past trying to force something on Liam that he didn’t want or trying to manipulate him into something. No, if Liam and Theo were going to ever actually be together, Liam was going to have to decide that on his own. 

The only thing Theo really did to try to push, even a little, was trying to be… available. He walked around shirtless much of the time, casually trying to get Liam’s attention in a way that would seem natural and not obvious to the younger boy. Liam seemed to be totally unaware of it, and Theo was losing his mind. His attempts had gotten progressively more obvious, but Liam remained painfully oblivious.

So when Liam slammed the door of their apartment, stomped in and dramatically banged his head on the table in front of him, Theo just stared. He had been laying on the lounge in a pair of fluffy pyjama shorts – something no one in the world besides Liam would ever get to see and be allowed to live to tell the tale. It had been a hot day, but the evening had taken on a chill and Theo had pretended not to notice, ploughing on with his seemingly futile attempt to make Liam notice. 

“What’s up, bub?” The chimera asked, wondering when their relationship had become so casual. Theo knew when it’d changed for him—when he’d come back from hell. When Liam had been kicked out of home because his parents found out he was a werewolf and he and Theo had decided to get an apartment together, each working multiple jobs to make ends meet until things were more settled. He had really seen Liam then, seen him cry over what happened, seen him truly figure out who he was, and eventually, seen him take his place beside Scott as a real Alpha. A true Alpha. 

Liam didn’t answer. He just grumbled and pushed the piece of cardboard in his hand towards Theo. Theo looked down at it, before glancing back up. “Okay… someone’s getting married. I don’t know who this is.” Theo told him. He glanced up at Liam, who was still dramatically sprawled over the kitchen bench before adding, “Or why you’re mad about it.”

Liam’s blue eyes finally lifted up off the table, but only peeked through his arms. “It’s my cousin.” He said quietly. Theo just gave him a look. He still didn’t understand. “My cousin is getting married and I’m going to have to go. I’m going to have to see my parents. I’m going to have to see all of my family. Who know about what I am. Who hate me. I don’t even know why I’m invited; they don’t want me there.”

Oh. Okay. Now Theo understood why Liam didn’t want this. Theo frowned, “Well, you could just not go…?” He suggested, hoping Liam wouldn’t put himself through something that would make him miserable just to catch a glance of his parents.

“Well… I… had another idea.” Liam said quietly. Theo just raised his brows. “You could come with me. As my date. Well… y’know, fake date. As my plus one.”

Theo frowned. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go with Liam. It was that he didn’t want to fake-go with Liam. It felt kind of insulting, and he wasn’t sure why it couldn’t just be an actual date. 

When Theo spoke again, he seemed far less interested than he really was. “Ugh. Li, you know you could ask Mason or Corey, right? Or Scott, or Malia, or Lydia or—” Liam cut him off.

“Mason and Corey are already going; my cousin knows them because Mason and I have been friends since we were kids. I don’t want to ask Scott or Malia or Lydia or Stiles or anyone else, it’s embarrassing. I asked you.” He paused, and Theo was absolutely positive the head-tilted, puppy-eyed look he was getting was intentional. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to come with me…” 

Theo frowned. He was pretending to be stronger than he was. A night with Liam, wearing a tux, getting to slow dance and hold his hand and pretend Liam wanted him? Theo was sold as soon as Liam mentioned it. He wished it was real, but he wasn’t going to pass up his opportunity.

Theo told himself Liam would eventually come to his senses. He thought he would eventually realise they were meant to be together and that Theo was very attractive – at least, everyone had always told him so – and they would get married or some sappy shit (it made Theo feel better to pretend in his head he wasn’t already a sappy shit). But if that didn’t happen, if Liam met someone else and fell in love, that could be okay too. Just as long as Theo still got to be near him, he could live with the rest of it.

“Alright, alright, fine. But you’re going to pay for my tux.” Theo said. Liam’s eyes lit up, a grin pulling at his lips. 

He ran forward, throwing his arms around Theo in a warm and sort of aggressive hug. Theo just stood for a second in shock. He and his fluffy shorts were a little taken off guard by the contact, especially when he was only wearing fluffy shorts. After a moment, and Theo clearing his throat in surprise, Liam pulled back.

He pushed off Theo’s bare chest, smiling shyly. “Uh, sorry, dude. Kinda weird to hug you when you’re half naked.” Theo just stared at him. Kind of weird? They’d fucked before, for god’s sake. It felt like some kind of bad prank.

“Kind of weird for you to hug me at all,” Theo deadpanned, partly from annoyance and partly from awkwardness. If Liam was so averse to touching him, why did he want him to be his date anyway?

The trip to get the tuxedos had been largely uneventful. Theo had made a point of accidentally walking around in his underwear when Liam was there, and Liam had awkwardly avoided looking at him in a way that frustrated the boy. He told himself not to think about it, that if Liam didn’t want him, then that was fine. But it still hurt, especially when everyone else seemed to think they were dating anyway. 

Liam had looked handsome, somehow too young to have as much pain and power as he did, and Theo thanked his lucky stars – not for the first time – that Theo had failed in his plan. The idea of permanently damaging this boy, worse, of killing him, made Theo feel like he deserved to go back to hell. He tried to remember that he had been forgiven. Tried to remember the pack had long since accepted him.

The closer the date of the wedding became, the worse Theo felt about it. He was excited, excited to be able to hold Liam and imagine them together for a night, but that made him feel guilty, especially when Liam seemed so averse to being too close to him usually.

He’d convince himself he couldn’t do this, that he had to remove himself from his own sanity, and then Liam would shift closer to him during a movie night, curling up on his lap and going to sleep and Theo would sigh quietly and realise that he was not going to pass up this opportunity. That he was absolutely not going to let Liam down. Not again.

The day of the wedding, Mason and Corey turned up before they were ready, the four of them going together. That was a blessing and a curse. It reminded him that Liam and Theo were not Corey and Mason. That they were not the soulmate-level, happy couple that the other two boys were, that they never would be. Theo hated that reminder, but he knew he needed it. What was more, it made Theo safer. Stopped him from doing something stupid, like believe that Liam was really feeling the same way about him as he was about Liam. 

He was ready before Liam (and he would like everyone to know it, since he had a reputation as a peacock and Liam didn’t) and so it was him who went to let Mason and Corey into their apartment. The two of them looked great, matching suits far more interesting than Liam and Theo’s were. Theirs were both just black with simple ties, Mason wore a maroon velvet suit and Corey wore a deep blue that complimented it. They reminded Theo, as always, of what real love looked like.

He didn’t deserve their forgiveness, or their trust, but thankfully, he had gotten it. They had come to treat him like a friend. Movie nights and game nights, bowling and lacrosse games. Theo would never stop being thankful. In truth, he would do anything for either of them. He could see why Liam cared so much for them before, he did now too. 

“You look good, dude.” Mason greeted with a grin, hugging Theo on entry and walking into the apartment. Corey did the same, and the three moved to sit on their couch, waiting for Liam to come in from his room. He hadn’t seen him in the suit yet, because Liam had been locked in there with music blaring since he’d woken up that morning.

“So… is this like, a real date or…?” Corey ventured, keeping his voice low. Theo figured he was trying to make sure Liam didn’t hear the question, but Theo was pretty sure Liam wasn’t hearing anything over his music in there. Or his own loud, somewhat out of tune singing. Theo was reluctant to admit he found the whole thing rather cute.

Theo shook his head and both of their expressions fell. At least Theo wasn’t alone in his disappointment. 

“Nope. I’m just a buffer against his parents.” He said with a slightly tense smile. 

“You didn’t have to do this, y’know?” Mason said quietly, apparently realising it was hard for Theo to pretend. Theo didn’t bother lying and saying it wasn’t. Everyone knew except Liam anyway. Maybe Liam did too—and just aggressively ignored it. He wouldn’t put it past the tiny shit. 

“I know.” He said finally. He was going to elaborate, but Liam’s music cut, and a second later he emerged. 

Theo had already seen him in the tux, but he was still rather taken with his appearance. His hair looked soft and floopy, which Theo would admit he liked far better than the short. He had light stubble and the plain blue tie he wore made his blue eyes look even more incredible than Theo already thought they were. He wrung his hands nervously, waiting for one of his three best friends to speak. 

Theo wanted to be the one to say something, but he couldn’t make words come out of his suddenly dry mouth.

“Looking slick, dude!” Mason filled in brightly, standing up to hug his friend. Theo just watched, hopelessly in love with a boy who didn’t even spare a glance in his direction.

Liam did look good. He looked incredibly handsome and his eyes looked impossibly blue, but he also looked anxious. Really, really anxious. Theo was suddenly glad he’d agreed to come. He didn’t want to leave Liam alone against this, and he didn’t know how well he was going to take it. 

An hour later, they were walking into the place. They’d come up with a set of rules, things that were and weren’t okay. They weren’t going to kiss on the lips. They were going to hold hands and slow dance. They met at school, Theo was a year older, but they didn’t get together until a few years later, after being roommates and best friends. So… sort of similar to how it actually happened, sans almost alpha-cide and the actual getting together part, which, Theo lamented, hadn’t actually happened. 

Theo slid his hand into Liam’s, intertwining their fingers, his eyes scanning over Liam’s face. Taking aside his general heart-eyes at the boy so dressed up, he was actually worried. Liam hadn’t lost his cool for a while, but he also hadn’t been around his family for a while, and Theo knew that could be something of a trigger for him. He knew how badly it affected him when it actually happened. He wouldn’t be surprised if it were to happen again now. 

The ceremony went off without anything much happening, but the worst part was always the drinking and dancing part. They had been graciously supplied with the right mix of wolfsbane and whatever else was needed (Theo didn’t really know) in order to get them drunk. Maybe it was a bad idea, but it wasn’t going to be Theo who told him that. Theo was just going to hover and do his absolute best to keep him calm.

A few drinks and some hazy eyes later, Liam and Theo were dancing. This wasn’t really new, they hung out together all the time, and while he was perfectly fine with having Liam hanging on him, he knew it was alcohol and the fake date, so he didn’t put any stock in it. Nor in the dreamy way Liam was looking up at him. This had happened before. Theo had fallen for it, but then Liam had woken up and pretended it didn’t happen, and he really didn’t want to go down that road again. 

“I like you in a suit,” Liam’s words were clear to his chimera ears, but he knew it wouldn’t have been loud enough against the blaring music and other guests otherwise. Wedding music was always a specific breed, and them dancing together to Abba was something that probably wouldn’t normally be happening. Nor Liam’s slightly flirtatious compliment.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Theo answered, unable to resist the opportunity to compliment his best friend.

“I think I’d like you better out of that suit,” Theo just about choked on his own spit. It had happened before. They’d done this before. But it had been over a year ago, and Theo wasn’t going to fall for this again. It didn’t mean anything, and he couldn’t keep hurting his heart that way.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” Theo cautioned. It sounded like a joke and he kept the typical Theo smirk on his face, but he really did mean it. He kept getting hurt by letting himself believe this was ever going to be anything. Theo had been drinking too, and he didn’t entirely trust his own judgement either. Liam was intoxicating, and he was far weaker than he used to be.

Liam opened his mouth to respond, but stopped, suddenly looking much more alert. 

Theo followed his eyes. It was his mother, quietly talking to the bride. Theo made a point to focus and listen, as he knew Liam was doing.

“Why did you invite him?” Came the hiss of her voice. Theo had never actually met her in person, he’d only seen her from time to time, mostly when Liam bumped into her and they had some kind of blow-up. Theo didn’t understand why a mother would ever reject their child, especially a child like Liam. He’d fought back against so much to be a good, selfless person. Despite his anger, he’d become a hero. He’d earned his red eyes, like his own Alpha before him. He could feel anger burning in his own chest, and he momentarily forgot to check Liam, staring murderously at his mother.

“He’s my cousin.” The bride whispered back, eyes darting around to see if he was around, but entirely missing where Liam and Theo now stood still, arms still around each other, but entirely lost in focus at the conversation.

“He’s dangerous. That boy he’s with is dangerous too. You shouldn’t have brought them here. It’s just embarrassing the family. And putting your family at risk. That’s why I got rid of them.” 

Theo finally remembered to look at Liam, momentarily shaken from his own blinding rage by the soft growl coming from Liam. Theo tightened his grip on the boy, not letting go of him. “Li, it isn’t worth it.” He muttered, knowing Liam could hear him. “You’ll just prove her right. There are a lot of people here who don’t deserve to get hurt, and we won’t be able to cover our tracks without getting rid of all of them. Unless you’re planning to hurt someone and go to jail. And how would you live with yourself if you hurt your mother?” He was just talking now, sounding far calmer than he actually felt, waiting for the younger werewolf to really hear him. Liam usually did.

After a moment, Liam’s eyes, which had burned red, turned back to their usual (beautiful) blue and he looked up at Theo. He had been all anger a moment before, but now he was sad. Now, he looked heartbroken.

It broke Theo’s own heart. “Do you wanna get the fuck out of here?” Liam wasn’t listening to him, so Theo made another attempt of it. “I’ll let you take the suit off me.” Blue eyes flickered up.

Within minutes, they were back in an uber, on the trip back to their apartment. Their hands were still intertwined, but neither spoke. Theo figured Liam had forgotten about his bribe to get him out, or elsewise sobered up enough not to want it anymore, which was fine. He was only trying to protect him from the hurt, this one night stand thing never really worked for him anyway. 

When they got out of the uber and back into the apartment, Theo tugged at his tie, but was shocked when his whole body was pushed back into the fridge, Liam’s slightly shorter frame suddenly pushing hard up against his. Theo let out an involuntary groan, instinctively returning the feverish and unexpected kiss. It had been over a year since Liam had last kissed him. Every time had been quick and heated, touches leaving burns of passion along his body, forgotten and ignored the next day. This, apparently, was no different.

Liam was pulling at his jacket, mumbling something against his lips about Theo telling him he could take the suit off him. Despite Theo’s best efforts, he didn’t need to be told twice. His body responsive without his permission, he pulled up enough to help Liam pull the coat off him, and then the shirt. Somehow they were moving, and Theo barely noticed when he was backed up against his own bed, pushed down onto it.

Then Liam was on top of him, straddling him, and it was overwhelming. Theo felt desperate for more of him, to hold onto him, to not ever let him go. 

Until he felt the wet on his own cheeks. Eyes blinking open, he could see that despite the feverish movements, Liam was crying. In his haste and distraction, Theo had forgotten what was happening here. Liam was sad. Liam was heartbroken. Liam was using Theo as his own distraction. Gently, gently, Theo rolled out from under Liam, dropping him onto the bed and sitting up. 

“What, you’re rejecting me too?” Liam spit the words, anger and annoyance.

Theo winced, but shook his head. “It’s not like that, bub.” He muttered, reaching out a hand to brush some of the stray hairs out of his face. “Honestly… I just… it seems like you need a hug more than a hate fuck right now.” It was only partly a joke, considering Liam always seemed so fierce during these encounters. 

“I don’t hate you.” He grumbled back, but didn’t dispute the rest. 

Theo shifted to lay down in the bed, glad no one had ever turned the lights on, and held his arms open for the former beta. “Come on. I’ll stay here with you.” It was his own bed, so he sort of had to stay, but what he meant was to offer for Liam to stay with him.

After a moment of begrudging silence, Liam slid into his arms and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly, “I’m sorry your family suck. But you have us. The pack. We all love you.” Theo offered. Liam didn’t answer, just nuzzled into Theo and fell asleep.

When Theo awoke, like clockwork, Liam was already gone, all signs of anything amiss completely gone, and Theo was just another one night stand left to do a walk of shame.


	2. You Can See It In the Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's jealous, Theo's a simp and they're both idiots.
> 
> In other words, Liam finds out Hayden is getting married. Far from being jealous over her, Liam just doesn't want to feel like a failure. To hide his sense of loneliness, he lies and says he and Theo have been dating for months. Now they have to lie to the entire pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so my dumb self was going to finish this in 2, but it went somewhat off the rails, so there are going to be at least three, potentially four, depending how I go! Hope you enjoy this mess!

It had been eight months since Liam had last asked Theo to be his fake date and he was pretty sure he had irreparably pissed Theo off. The morning after the whole fiasco, Theo had gone off on a jog and when he’d returned, he’d seemed distant. They hadn’t hung out together as much, Theo hadn’t been anywhere near as comfortable around him and there certainly hadn’t been any more kisses up against the fridge. Or anywhere for that matter.

He was still friendly. They still did movie nights and game nights and hung out with the others. Theo was still always there when he needed him. But it wasn’t the same.

Liam didn’t know what it had meant in the first place anyway, so he told himself that he didn’t care. 

Friends was what they were anyway. Friends who bantered a lot. Friends who slept together a few times…

He had resolved never ever to ask Theo to date him again. Fake-date him, that was.

But then he had a lunch date with his ex-girlfriend, and his perspective had changed somewhat.

Liam and Hayden were still close. They had remained close despite the complications of their breakup. When she moved back to Beacon Hills, things were complicated at first, then they weren’t. Liam didn’t really feel the same way anymore, nor did Hayden, so they went on as friends. They hung out at least once a week and kept texting. 

So when Hayden told Liam she was getting married, he wasn’t surprised exactly. And he didn’t really care, per se. He was happy for her and there were no lingering romantic feelings… And yet, he felt embarrassed. That she was getting married and the closest he’d come was his ex-mass murderer best friend he hooked up with seemingly once every few years. 

He had vowed never to do it again (then again, he’d vowed that after every time, including after the first). But this was different. 

Liam was stupid, that much he couldn’t deny, because the words came out without him meaning to. “Can I bring my boyfriend?” Stupid. It was stupid. So stupid. He didn’t have a boyfriend and even if he did, why would he want to bring them to his ex’s wedding? 

Hayden’s brows lifted, and she gave him a look. “Have you been holding out on me, Liam? I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

He clenched his jaw, because of course he didn’t, and she was right that he would’ve told her if he did. But he had to save face in some way now, and the only thing he could think to say was: “Theo.” It came out almost like a choke, an awkward forced sound he didn’t mean to say.

Liam knew Hayden had never really warmed to Theo, despite the rest of the pack having pretty much accepted him, albeit grudgingly at first. He couldn’t exactly blame her, and he’d never tried too hard to push the subject – and blissfully, neither had she. They knew how each other felt about it, and in the interest of their friendship, they left it alone.

Still, Hayden didn’t look overly pleased. “I’m sorry, what? You’re messing with me, right? No way you’re dating Theo Raeken without me knowing…?” This wasn’t a good plan; Liam was realising slowly. He was going to either have to get the whole rest of the pack in on it as well, make them agree to lying to Hayden, or he was going to have to get Theo to pretend to everybody. That or tell the truth, but he had too much pride to do that. 

“I mean, we haven’t really told anybody yet.” He kept going, wishing his own mouth would stop. “You know, it’s only our business and all that. But um, yeah, for a few months now.”

Who the fuck let Liam Dunbar talk anyway?

“Oh…” She didn’t look like she believed him, but Liam just cleared his throat. “I mean… yeah. If you really want to bring him, sure.” She thought for a minute, before adding, “But he’s not going to be my bridesmaid.” 

Liam frowned, “What? Why would he be?”

“Well, I was hoping you would be. I mean, my bridesman. Or… groomsmen. But mine? I don’t know what it’s called. I was hoping you’d stand with me. I don’t know if that’s weird, I know we dated, but you’re still one of my best friends in the world. Anyway, you don’t have to but…”

Liam brightened, “Oh my god.” They’d stayed close, and Liam really did still love her. “Yes, absolutely, of course!” He grinned and hugged her, but internally he was wondering what the hell he’d done to himself here.

*

Later, he was pouting at the couch, where Theo lay watching a movie, refusing to even look up at him. 

“Please, Theo!” He begged.

“No, Liam.” Liam winced. Theo had an annoying number of nicknames for him; bub, little wolf, pup, beta (though he wasn’t), li. But never just Liam. He was in trouble here.

“It’s going to be so embarrassing if you don’t.”

“I don’t understand why you told her that in the first place—it’s not like she doesn’t know us. You could’ve just made someone up and gotten someone else to do it. Another friend or something.”

“Well… Yeah, okay, but I didn’t, I said you. She knows you, it’s too late to go back now.”

Theo rolled his eyes, finally glancing up at him. “You can’t be serious. Just tell her the truth. Say you felt awkward and you freaked out and pretended to be dating me because you’re secretly in love with me.”

Liam groaned, and sat down right in front of Theo, blocking his view of the tv. 

“Why can’t you just do this for me. It’s only a few days!”

“No, it isn’t.” Theo snapped, “It’s a few weeks out from the wedding – it would be worse if they weren’t rushing it – and the whole pack will be there. We’d have to start acting now all the way up till at least after the honeymoon.” 

He blinked at his roommate. Theo was absolutely right. Liam had no defence for that. Instead, he focused on his puppy-eyed face, hoping Theo would give in.

“So? It’ll be fun! Like when you first convinced us you weren’t evil.” He hedged. 

Theo glared at him. “Liam, I can’t. I have a boyfriend.”

Liam balked. Theo had a what now? 

There was silence for a minute, before Theo pushed him back onto the couch so he could continue watching.

It took Liam a minute to regain himself. “Wait, since when?” He asked. He didn’t care—at least that’s what he told himself. It wasn’t like they were a couple; they were… nothing, really. Roommates. Friends. They’d just made mistakes before, that was all. A few mistakes, once every year or two, starting with the first time after the elevator incident. 

“Why, Liam? Are you tracking my dating life now?”

Liam wasn’t sure why Theo was so annoyed with him. He was only trying to force him into fake dating and lying to all their friends in order to make himself feel less awkward at his ex’s wedding. Totally innocent. 

“No, I just… I thought that was something I would know about. I thought you’d tell me.” He hated that he sounded hurt, especially because… well, he was. But he knew he had no right to be. And truly, he didn’t even know why. He supposed just because they were best friends. Best friends were meant to know things like this, right? 

Theo glanced over at Liam, still laying where Theo had pushed him off to, and his expression softened. 

“Look… I’ll do it. But… no more after this, alright? This is the last time. And we need to establish a really good story. And you need to work on not giving away when you’re lying, because you suck at that, Alpha Liam.” Liam didn’t know whether to be happy he’d agreed to help or offended about the sucking comment. He settled on a lukewarm smile. 

“Thanks, Theo.” He said, his voice sounding sort of soft and quiet.

*

He knew he would end up regretting all of this as soon as he did it, but nothing quite compared to this moment. A pack lunch. Liam was barely listening. Scott and Stiles were bickering about something. With the wedding only a few days off, everyone had returned from their respective corners of the planet, and while it was nice, it was a ton of pressure.

Currently, Liam was sitting half on Theo’s lap, leaning back into him, his eyes glazed over as he thought about how surprisingly comfortable Theo was to sit on. He had expected this to be way worse. Theo himself was on his phone, texting. Liam was trying not to invade his privacy, but it was hard when he knew who he was texting.

His stupid boyfriend. Liam hated that guy. Sure, he hadn’t met him, but he hated him anyway. He could see the little picture Theo had set for him at the top of the message chain, and he figured looking at that wasn’t invading too much. The man in the picture was shirtless, and he looked tall, which only pissed Liam off more. 

If he was going to date Theo, he should have at least had the decency to be short. 

Liam caught a glance of the message and immediately felt bad for doing so. ‘It doesn’t mean anything. I’m just helping out a friend’. 

Liam swallowed hard. Whatever was going on there was his fault. He took Theo’s phone off of him and Theo, though clearly annoyed by the look on his face, didn’t resist. There were too many people around for them to speak out loud about this. Liam backed out of that text chain and went to his own, under the label ‘bub’. He still didn’t know where that nickname came from, but he could never tell whether it was affectionate or mocking. 

He typed out the message quickly and handed Theo’s phone back to him, with it still on the screen. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble with your boyfriend.’

Theo read it and glanced up at him, giving a little shake of his head. Liam took that to mean that he wasn’t mad, based on his softened expression. He was glad Theo wasn’t mad anymore, because that hadn’t been a fun phase for Liam, who was a naturally affectionate person anyway. 

He turned his head a little to kiss Theo’s temple, which was at his lip level anyway. It served the double purpose of being convincing to his friends and also hopefully acting as a thank you to Theo for what he was doing. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. And he sort of felt like he had Theo back. The Theo from back before his cousin’s wedding, when he had gotten all weird and distant. 

Mason broke the tension. “I still can’t believe you two finally got together.” He emphasised the finally so much, Liam thought he might pop something. 

He laughed awkwardly, but Theo was smooth in his quick response. “Yeah, well, Liam could only resist me for so long.” He answered, true to form. 

“And thank god for that, because I thought you were going to pine uselessly after him forever.” Liam felt his heart jump, but he told himself Mason must just be wrong. He had no idea where he’d even gotten that from. Theo had always been Theo. Flirtatious, half-naked, sure. But pining? Absolutely not. Theo was all sharp wit and rolling eyes, he wasn’t pining after Liam. 

Theo snorted, but didn’t show any sign of any kind of reaction. “What makes you think it wasn’t him pining after me?” He answered. Liam wondered how he was doing this so easily, before he remembered the manipulation thing Theo had done most of his life. At least he was using his powers for good now. 

It was Malia who answered this time. “Please. Liam was probably busy trying to fight a neighbourhood dog or something.” Everyone was laughing now, while Liam feigned offence. 

“Yeah, Liam might be fighting a neighbourhood Pomeranian, but you know Theo was there ready to back him up if the dog got the upper hand.” Stiles added, the same mocking tone in his voice. He figured all this would’ve come across far more mean spirited if these people didn’t believe they were a couple. Presumably, any pining would have been discussed and wouldn’t be embarrassing when they were supposedly in love. 

“Alright, knock it off, we get it, I’m a simp.” Theo answered, shaking his head. 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me he was pining? I want to know about the pining!” Liam finally jumped in, which caused the laughing to alight again. 

“Honestly, you’re the only person I know oblivious enough not to have noticed in the first place,” Corey was saying, shaking his head. “I mean, hell, he’s done nothing but follow you around since—” 

“As opposed to you following Mason around since you met?” Theo interjected.

“To be fair, he didn’t wait like, seven years of friendship to finally act on it.” 

“Mason, you traitor.” Theo threw a piece of popcorn from the table at him, which he dodged. 

“Who did act on it anyway?” Scott was asking. Liam was barely speaking at all, but no one seemed to notice it, and Liam was happy to let Theo do the talking. Especially considering whenever he did, something went wrong.

“Me.” They both said at the same time, then immediately stared at each other. 

“Okay, so if I’m understanding right, how this happened was: Liam brought Theo back from hell, Theo simped for him for seven years and then Liam made the first actual move.” Stiles suggested sarcastically. 

Liam just blinked at them all, “Did everybody here know I had a boyfriend before I did?” He asked, feigning hurt.

There was a chorus of ‘yes’ in various forms and Liam just shook his head. 

“I’m an idiot.” He told them all, not having to act too much to pull it off, since that much was obviously true.

“My idiot.” Theo added, abandoning his phone in favour of wrapping his arms around Liam in a tight hug. 

The conversation moved on without them, and Liam was left wondering where the hell everyone had gotten the idea that Theo was in love with him from? It couldn’t be more obvious to him that Theo had only been interested up until he met his stupid tall boyfriend.

What was more upsetting was the realisation that Liam wished it was true that Theo had been in love with him for the last few years. Or at least, that he was now. 

But he wasn’t. He had a boyfriend, so Liam resolved to go on with his plan, get through the wedding, convince everyone, then be done.

They just had to get through a half a week of staying in a hotel with the whole pack, bride and groom included, without killing each other or accidentally exposing themselves as liars. 

What could go wrong?


	3. You Can see It On The Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liam spends multiple days harassing Theo for his attention, and Theo contemplates reassessing his murder policies. Theo's boyfriend also confronts him about his relationship with Liam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yikes. This one got away from me a bit, it's basically a full chapter of banter. The next one will have more plot content, but I hope you guys enjoy anyway! This is going to be 5 chapters now because I have no control xoxo

“I’m sorry!” Liam was sitting on the floor in front of the lounge where Theo sat, pointedly ignoring him.

He was so annoyed that he’d been dragged into this, when he’d made such a point of getting over Liam. 

It had taken a long time and a whole lot of effort, but Theo had decided that he couldn’t keep putting himself in this position. It had been hard at first, he’d had to make a conscious effort not to sit too close, not to stare at him, not to take notice of the things he’d loved about him.

He made sure not to fall asleep beside Liam, not to get too comfortable or too touchy. 

And eventually, he started trying to date. He went out with different men, finding that he wasn’t really interested in any of them.

When he met Grant, he wasn’t immediately interested. The man was everything Liam wasn’t. He was about double his height for one thing, dark hair and dark eyes. He was soft spoken and easy-going, never yelled and wasn’t super competitive. He was his opposite. Maybe, inadvertently, that was why Theo had picked him. Because it was easier than spending the rest of his life fawning over someone who didn’t care that he was there.

But Grant was a good guy. He was nice and he listened to Theo and he’d never disappeared the morning after them sleeping together. He didn’t refer to Theo as ‘just his friend’ either, which was kinda nice for someone who’d never had anyone actually love him before.

“I’m not talking to you.” Theo grumbled at him. Liam let out a whine that only reminded Theo why he’d taken to calling him ‘puppy’ after the events of the Anuk-Ite invasion. 

“Theo,” It sounded like a long, frustrated whine coming from his throat. He didn’t look down at him and tried to tell himself he wasn’t doing it because he liked having Liam’s full attention on him.

“Not talking to you,” Theo answered back, looking down at his phone. He had another text from Grant. Theo had actually never seen him annoyed before, not in months of dating, but he was annoyed now. Annoyed that Theo had agreed to fake date his roommate. Theo sort of wondered whether he could sense that Theo had once liked him. He was over it now though—he wouldn’t look at Liam that way anymore, no matter how nice it was to be near each other again.

“Theo, we only have one bed. You have to talk to me.” 

“Uh-uh.” Theo answered, still staring at his phone.

Grant: Please tell me there are at least two beds.  
Grant: … I haven’t even met the guy, you never let me come over when he’s around…

Theo sighed at his phone. He didn’t want to lie; he didn’t really do that kind of thing anymore. Instead, he pulled his phone up and snapped a picture of the hotel room. The bed was huge, big enough that they could both starfish and not touch, but it was still only one bed. He barely noticed Liam in the side of the photo, sitting cross-legged on the floor and giving his best puppy look. He was trying not to look at his face. 

“I will lie on you.” Liam told him, challengingly. 

Theo began whistling, ignoring him. 

“Theo, I swear to god. I will cut holes in the butt of your tuxedo. You have to talk to me.” 

Theo barely heard the threat, or at least, it took him a minute to process it. He was busy looking at Grant’s text.

Grant: You didn’t tell me he was hot.

Theo just sighed. Why would he have told him that anyway, even if it was true? 

Liam walked off, going into the bathroom of their room and returning with a glass of water. 

“I’m going to wet your half off the bed if you don’t talk to me.” He told him, eyes narrowing aggressively at him. Theo wondered if he just never talked again if Liam’s threats would just keep increasing indefinitely. He had no idea where Liam was going to go from here. If he really threw a glass of water on half the bed, Theo would just make him sleep there. Or have to sleep closer to Liam but continue ignoring him, he guessed.

He’s not hot, he’s an idiot. Theo texted back, realising he actually was lying now, but figuring it counted as the truth since he wasn’t attracted to Liam… anymore. 

Grant set back a picture of his face glaring, as if calling Theo a liar. 

He sent back a picture of Liam tipping water on the bed. 

“Theo, I swear to god, I will…” Liam stopped to think, seemingly out of ideas. “Wait, I have it!” Liam grinned, “If I bring someone from the pack here, you’ll have to pretend to love me, you’ll have to talk to me.”

Theo finally looked at Liam, levelling a glare at him. “I will tell them you lied.” He answered flatly.

“Aha!” Liam yelled, “You’re talking to me. I win.” Theo rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Grant: What the hell is he doing?  
Theo: He’s mad at me because I’m ignoring him, so he tipped water on my side of the bed.  
Grant: … he sounds like an idiot… no offence. 

Liam was talking again, but Theo was ignoring him, and before he even realised what was happening, Liam was right up in his personal space, an inch away from him. Theo kept glaring, refusing to speak to him.

He told himself he hated Liam right now. Grant was right, he was an idiot. But instead, he was angry that his boyfriend had called him that, and felt the direct need to argue back, explain that it was sort of their thing, bantering. It was one thing for Theo to call Liam an idiot, they were best friend. Theo was his idiot. Or not… his. But… Theo had a right. That didn’t mean someone else could do it.

But Liam was too close to him and Theo was struggling to think straight. He had spent so long trying to ignore the blue of Liam’s eyes and now here they were, right up next to his. He could feel Liam’s breath on his own lips, could hear his heartbeat almost louder than his own. Which meant Theo could hear his too. Maybe he’d even heard it race. Theo tried to get it back under control. 

He could feel his hands itching to reach out, to touch Liam in some way. To ruffle his hair or just make some kind of contact. He remembered how it had felt to have Liam’s hands on him before and he felt a shiver run down his spine. He shook it off, reminded himself that he didn’t feel that way about him anymore.

“Talk to me, Theo.” He said again. Theo let out a sigh but didn’t move or speak. He didn’t know what would happen, but he had to stay absolutely still. If he didn’t, he was going to do something he would regret, like close the gap between them.

But then Liam was getting closer and Theo’s heartrate was spiking and for a second, he really thought Liam was going to kiss him. But then Liam licked up the side of his face and Theo let out a loud curse.

“What the fuck, bub?” He spat and Liam grinned triumphantly. 

*

In a weird way, it was nice of Hayden. 

Theo knew she still hated him, which was fine by him, because he sort of still hated her too. He still felt unsettled when he saw her and Liam together, though he couldn’t place why. 

Still, he was here. Invite and all, while they rehearsed. Since there were an uneven number, Hayden had suggested that Liam and Theo could walk up together, then Liam would stand by her side and Theo would move back to sit in the crowd. The rest of her bridesmaids were people she’d known from college and the like, Liam was the only one of the pack specifically involved. It was nice, if not a little weird.

Theo still didn’t know why Liam had dragged him into it, but he could at least appreciate it was a nice gesture from her. 

Currently, they were wearing casual clothes, standing around outside the venue, waiting to do a test run of the whole thing. 

Liam hadn’t ever stopped doing ridiculous things. It seemed like he was trying so hard to keep Theo talking to him that he was just doing getting more and more out there. The first run through, Liam had smacked Theo’s butt as they got to the front of the aisle. Theo had just stared at him, while some of the others whooped and hollered. Liam looked triumphant and Theo thought he might smother him in his sleep. 

The second run through, Liam had gotten to the end and then stuck his pointer finger in Theo’s ear, giving him a fright that caused him to yelp. Everyone had laughed at that too. It almost made him miss when they all hated him. Almost.

The third time, Liam had leaned up and planted a kiss on Theo’s cheek. That felt far more harmless. Or it would have, did Theo not hear his own heart jump. Could he not feel his own cheeks burning. He used to be a much better liar than this. He had gotten soft.

*

Lunch was no better. Nor were any of the next few days. Theo didn’t know why Liam was harassing him now. He had stopped ignoring him, but Liam went on being annoying. He would constantly insist on holding his hand, poke his waist to zap him when no one else was watching, jump on his back as they walked about the hotel planning. He would find excuses to touch him or slap him or poke him and while Theo didn't entirely mind the contact, he was beginning to feel like this was all some big prank and Liam was torturing him for some reason. He'd even bitten his shoulder at one point, which had Theo jumping across the room in shock, only to have to try to explain to the pack why he was reacting so strangely to his own boyfriend touching him that way.

The others were noticing, and they had taken to pointing out how it was affecting him. How he yelped or blushed or even stumbled at one point.

It was just that Liam and Theo were never this touchy feely in front of people. Maybe Liam was just trying to sell it, maybe he’d temporarily lost his mind, but it was getting embarrassing. 

His phone lit up Grant’s face and Theo frowned down at it. Grant was pissed at him and he knew he was going to have to take the call. He excused himself and left, ignoring the pointedly concerned face Liam was throwing him. As he walked off, Theo heard him tell the others Grant was a co-worker, to explain the conversation. 

“Tell me the truth. Are you in love with him?” No hello. No casual tone. No easy-going boyfriend who never argued or competed. 

Theo choked on his own spit in surprise, shaking his head thought Grant couldn’t see it. “Of course not.” He said quickly. “He’s just a friend. He did a lot for me when we were younger. I had no one else.”

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. “I always… suspected that was why you wouldn’t let me come around. The way you talk about him…” His voice trailed off and Theo felt a pang of guilt.

“Look, I… I won’t lie to you, I did… used to feel something for him. When we were younger. But that was a long time ago and we’re just friends now. Honestly, he’s driving me nuts. He might end up mysteriously going missing.” He joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

There was a moment of silence. It stretched too long, and Theo felt like he was beginning to itch with concern. “Promise?”

Theo felt guilty, even though he’d gone to great lengths to get over the blue-eyed boy. “I...” He trailed off, desperately not wanting to return to being the liar he had been once. The phone went dead and Theo knew he was going to have to beg for forgiveness after all this.

*

“I really thought it would be dry by now.” 

Theo was definitely going to kill Liam before this was all over. Blue eyes stared into his eyes and Theo just glared back. 

“Your eyes look really green in this light though.” Liam offered, clearly trying to butter him up.

“Li, I swear to god… The one benefit of this room was that the bed was absolutely huge. Then you went and wet it and now we’re both squished on one half. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to sleep with me.” He teased, mentally chastising himself for the flirtatious tone it took, when he was trying so hard to be annoyed. 

“You really think this was on purpose?” Liam scoffed, rolling over so his back was pressed against Theo’s side.

“You could wear a shirt.” Theo grumbled.

“I’m hot.” Liam answered grumpily. Theo was pretty sure he didn’t have to be this close to him; the water stains hadn’t been that big.

“Are you trying to get me to push you back into the wet puddle, because I swear I will.” Theo threatened, rolling over again, trying to get comfortable. He rolled so that he was facing the back of Liam’s head, but so that they weren’t touching, and Liam sighed.

“Go to bed, Theo. It’s like 3 o’clock in the morning and they’re getting married tomorrow.” 

“I hate you.” Theo added quietly. Liam said nothing, but shifted back so that the back of him was pressed up against the front of Theo.

Theo knew he should move. Lay in the wet patch if he had to, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Instead, he closed his eyes and tried hard to sleep, reminding himself that he and Liam were nothing more than friends. That Liam was his annoying best friend who wouldn’t stop bugging him. That after tomorrow, this could be over. That after tomorrow, they could go back to being friends.

Still, when Theo woke up, his arms were tight around Liam, Liam’s head rested in the crook of his neck. At some point, Liam must have turned, because they were chest to chest now, wrapped up in a bear hug Theo was not prepared to examine. In his haste to get away, Theo fell to the floor with a thud, before running to the bathroom, hoping that Liam hadn’t noticed anything about how being so close had affected him physically.


	4. You Can See It With the Lights Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo go on a last minute adventure before Hayden's wedding.
> 
> Hayden gets married.
> 
> Thiam get messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um yikes, this is getting progressively more messy, but I mean ??? I hope you enjoy it! They're absolute idiots, but I adore them.

“Why the fuck aren’t you wearing underwear?” Liam snapped, hands covering his eyes as he was met with an unexpected view of Theo’s bare ass.

“I’m—” Theo stopped, frowning, “Wait, how do you know whether or not I’m wearing underwear?”

*

“I still can’t believe you actually cut holes in my pants, you fucking child.” Theo grumbled, and Liam just smiled. He shouldn’t have done it really, but Theo shouldn’t have ignored him. And in fairness to Liam, he had warned Theo he was going to do it, Theo had just… ignored him. 

“I mean, who the fuck does that? I have to walk you down the aisle! You may as well just have left me under the fucking ground at this point,” He ranted, at which point, Liam made the absolutely tragic mistake of giggling, which sent Theo flying back into a rage.

“I’m going to have to either buy a whole new suit now or I’m not going to match! It’s so obvious too, I can’t believe you! What are you, ten years old?” 

If Liam wasn’t wrong, Theo wasn’t as angry about this as he was acting. It was more like… a return to normalcy for them. Pranks and bickering and stupid fights about nothing. Things had been awkward for a while now, and Liam was just glad to feel like he had Theo back.

Even the fact that Theo had dragged Liam along on this venture to buy new pants was reassuring to Liam in a weird way. He could’ve gone on his own, especially since Liam was a bridesmaid… or something. Maybe it was a sort of punishment, so that he could go on yelling at Liam the whole time, but Liam was fine with that. At least nobody had ended up with a broken nose (not that they’d done that for years).

When they got to the place, Theo straight up told the attendant the story, presumably to embarrass him, but it only made Liam laugh more. He didn’t really regret any of it, especially considering the reaction he was getting. That only seemed to make Theo angrier. 

He wound up having to buy a whole new suit, which Liam laughed all the way through and left Theo throwing things at him, until the attendant came and asked them to leave. 

The thing was, Liam wasn’t sure if Theo hated him. He had been distant for months and Liam wasn’t really sure what he did to get them to this point. Ever since the beginning, they’d had a routine. After they’d stopped hating each other, they’d started saving each other. Time and time again, danger came, and Liam and Theo raced into the line of fire for each other. They’d taken bullets, gotten hurt, gotten kidnapped, and they’d always come through for each other.

Then, occasionally, whatever tension was building had been released, like a balloon finally popping after being overfilled. Every so often, something would happen, they’d sleep together, and then they’d go back to normal.

But Theo was… Theo. He was a player, and Liam always sort of thought he was too good looking to settle down, especially with him. A one-night-stand was one thing, but anything more than that? Well, Theo had always been smirks and flirting. Overly confident. Liam was really nothing like that himself. 

He had always sort of felt out of his own depth with Theo, like the older boy knew something he didn’t, or like Liam couldn’t quite match up to what he had to offer. He understood, obviously, that Theo had done terrible things in the past, but it had been nearly a decade since that, and it was all but forgotten in his mind. Theo had proved time and time again to be changed. 

But he was still… Theo. Muscle bound, annoyingly good-looking Theo. And Liam was… short, awkward, angry and fell in holes. 

On the drive back to the place, Liam hazarded a topic he’d never really gone near before. “How come I’ve never met your boyfriend?” He asked, his tone a little quieter than before. 

“Liam…” He began, his voice sounding tired, or nervous maybe. 

“I mean, you don’t have to introduce me obviously, it’s your business, and I know you’re private… but… I don’t even know what he’s like.” 

Theo seemed to think for a minute, before he began to speak again. “He’s… really tall.” Liam fucking knew it. “He’s a librarian. He’s really quiet and smart, just… a really nice, chill guy.” 

Liam’s heart sank. This guy was absolutely everything he wasn’t.

He had known that… objectively, at least. He thought back to the first time they had hooked up. It had been after the war with Monroe. After the elevator. Liam saw Theo look at his lips. It was fine, because Liam wanted to look at his too. He had still hated him then, at least sort of. He liked him, but he hated him too. Still, it felt like there had been something building. Tension, desire, anger, a whole lot of things Liam wasn’t emotionally intelligent enough to sort through without discussing it with someone.

Theo had offered to drive him home and Liam had tiredly accepted. It was over, the war was done, at least for the moment, and there was an air of… electricity. But also, tiredness. Like everyone could finally take a breath. Theo had barely spoken to Liam on the ride home. When they had gotten to his house, Theo had held out his fist to Liam. A nod to their earlier fist-bump they’d never gotten to have. That had felt like years ago at this point, though it wasn’t. 

It had been Liam who’d done it. Leaned across the space and closed the gap between them. It had been sort of rough and unplanned, but he had felt so desperate for Theo, to be close to him, to know what it was like to be held by him, that it hadn’t mattered. The whole thing had been sort of quick and aggressive, in the back of Theo’s truck. Still, Liam felt like he was flying after. Like they were meant to come together this way. It was Theo who had spoken first after it was over. 

“We shouldn’t do that again.” He had told Liam, and Liam had felt his heart break. He had felt embarrassed and cold. He’d rushed to get fully dressed again and left quickly after that.

It wasn’t too long after that his parents kicked him out, that the two began living together. It took months for their friendship to progress into something closer though, and over a year before they made that mistake again. But Liam didn’t need to be told twice. Theo saw them together as a mistake. Liam wasn’t going to be the one who clung to someone who didn’t want him. So he made a point of treating it as though it was casual. As though he didn’t care.

Liam had realised he was always the one to initiate contact, but he was also always the first one to leave after. He figured that would make it seem… non-comittal enough for Theo, who clearly had never liked him enough to date. Clearly not as much as Grant.

He was shaken from his memories by Theo, who now seemed to feel guilty for some reason.

“You can meet him if you really want to…” He added, sounding hesitant.

Liam shook his head, “It’s fine.” He paused, and when he spoke again, it was his heart talking, without his head’s permission. “Do you love him?”

Theo stared straight ahead, like if he moved the world might end, and it was a few moments before he answered. “I don’t know.” He finally returned. That didn’t make Liam feel any better, but he didn’t know how to answer. 

“Can’t believe people keep asking me this,” He grumbled to himself, and Liam just barely caught the words.

“Who else asked you that?” Liam asked, curious. Who else even knew Theo had a boyfriend? Surely not the pack… and who else was he even really friends with? 

“Oh.” Theo seemed to not want to answer, but after a minute he begrudgingly replied. “He asked me if I was in love with you.”

Liam’s heart stopped and his mind raced. Why did everyone seem to think that? Was it just because he was nice to Liam and Theo wasn’t that nice to anyone else? He didn’t know. 

Awkwardly, guiltily, Liam faked a laugh. “Well, that’s stupid, we’re obviously just friends.” It hurt him to say, and he hated to think about why. They’d been friends forever; Liam had always made a point not to jeopardise that if he could possibly avoid it. “Do you want me to talk to him? Assure him we’re just friends?”

“No.” Theo replied instantly, shaking his head, “That won’t help. He’s just… threatened by you.” 

Liam just squinted. Threatened by him? Why? “I mean, it was you who said us hooking up was a mistake.” He said with a shrug. He winced to himself; why had he made it so obvious that he remembered something that had happened so many years ago. 

Theo glanced up at him, just for a second, and Liam wondered whether he’d just irreparably embarrassed himself. 

But then he seemed to wake up from it, and he coughed, awkwardly. “He thought you were hot.”

Liam frowned, “Wait, how does he know what I look like?”

“I sent him a picture of you pouring water on the bed.”

“No wonder he’s fucking threatened, he probably thinks I’m a lunatic!” Liam burst out, causing Theo to jump. The conversation had gone so quiet and tense that the outburst really broke the mood. 

*

Liam and Hayden had a little heart-to-heart before it, talked about how much they meant to each other and Liam cried. He wasn’t sad, not even a little, he was happy for her. She had been a good friend to him, and they had made up a huge part of each other’s’ lives. He hoped she would be happy. 

Liam and Theo walking down the aisle together was… awkward. He felt a little guilty about lying to everyone, and even more guilty about causing problems in Theo’s relationship. 

Still, when they got to the front, Theo had some semblance of payback for him, because he smacked him on the backside as he passed, causing Liam to jump as he took his place by Hayden’s side. Judging by her knowing smirk, Theo had asked permission to do so first.

Liam figured he deserved that.

He sobbed during the wedding, even though he was stood by Hayden’s side and he watched as Scott clapped Theo on the back silently, giving him a smile of support. He felt guilty again, letting Scott believe this was real when it wasn’t. When Theo loved someone else. 

When all was said and done and they headed to the reception, Liam was glad to learn that since both Hayden and her fiancé (now husband) were werewolves, the drinks came spiked with enough wolfsbane that they could actually get drunk. 

Liam needed to get drunk. 

It was good though, the whole pack back together, anyone who could return had. Even those Hayden didn’t know as well had been invited, by virtue of being pack. They had Lydia and Stiles, back from Wasington DC. They had Derek, back from who knows where. Jackson and Ethan, back from London. Some hadn’t come. Isaac, Cora, people who apparently had never gotten over their need for space.

Still, it felt good to be back together. It felt good to be dancing, to be drinking, to be having fun. 

He and Theo had ended up dancing a lot, arms wrapped around each other, grinning, hazy expressions, laughter filling up the room.

Here they were again, dancing to Abba. 

Liam had never seen Theo drunk before, but then; he didn’t think Theo had ever seen him drunk before either. Or at least, not really far gone. They’d been drinking together at the last wedding, his cousin’s, but they hadn’t been drunk. Tonight, they were drinking more, as was everyone.

At one point, Liam and Hayden were dancing together to some pop song, jumping around, Liam’s coat abandoned, and his sleeves rolled up, holding her hands both as they jumped. 

He danced with Scott and Malia, dancing badly with their arms up in the air, barely paying attention to himself.

He tried to dance with Derek, who rebuffed him with a glare. 

At some point, he went off looking for Theo, stumbling into things as he went. He was sure he’d given himself a bruise on the hip, but it would heal in a little bit (albeit slower, thanks to the wolfsbane). When he finally caught sight of him, he was dancing with some other young guy. Liam didn’t know him, but he felt a flush of jealousy in his stomach. He wasn’t normally so quick to that emotion, but drunk, all he could think was that he wanted Theo to be close to him instead. 

He moved to go closer, to pull his “boyfriend” back to him, but he stopped in his tracks when he got close enough to hear them talking.

“I can’t, I have a boyfriend I love.” He heard Theo say. Some part of his confused brain told him that he must be talking about Grant. Liam didn’t know that Theo would be saying that about him, they’d never discussed whether or not they were meant to be ‘in love’, everyone had just assumed that, and they’d gone along with it. 

Liam turned on his heel, returning to his friends, pulling Kira’s hands to dance with him. The pack were mostly all like siblings now, so it was easy for him to get back into the circle, to swing Mason and Corey around too, dance with as many of his friends as he possibly could. 

At one point, Mason actually leaned in to kiss him; a joking, stupid peck that had everyone else laughing, including Liam. He had lost track of Theo and lost track of time altogether, with no idea what was going on. He figured Theo was probably brooding with Derek somewhere, but he wasn’t paying attention, completely enamoured with his friends and their relationship.

It was hours later when Liam was stumbling back to his hotel room, Mason and Corey practically holding him up when he got there, and he found Theo already asleep in bed. He stumbled into the room, trying to be quiet but bumping into things, swinging from wall to bed and back as he tried to get his clothes off. He struggled to get his pants off over his shoes. He knew he was meant to be doing something differently, but he couldn’t remember what, until he fell to the floor with a bang.

He heard Theo’s groggy, still drunken voice, “Liam? What the hell are you doing?” 

“Try’n’a—” He grunted, still pulling at his pants, “Try’n’a get my pants off and they keep—ugh, they keep getting caught on my shoes,” 

“Why…?” Theo’s voice came from the darkness, affectionate and amused. He sounded less drunk now, a little more awake. “Why are you trying to do it without taking your shoes off…” 

Liam startled when he felt hands on him, Theo there trying to help him. He pulled at Liam’s tie gently, undoing it as Liam struggled with his pants. Theo then moved to his shoes, pulling them off as gently as possible as Liam gave up and lay back on the floor. 

Theo helped to pull Liam’s pants off, leaving him in only the white dress shirt he had been wearing and underwear. Theo panted, clearly overexerted from the work, but Liam couldn’t actually see him in the dark—the whole thing was too confusing for his drunken mind. 

He could hear Theo getting back to his feet, climbing back onto the bed, but Liam was trying to figure out how to get there in the dark, reaching around blindly for the bed. When he got there, he pulled himself up with a groan, before trying to get his shirt off over his head and, inevitably, getting stuck halfway through it, arms up in the air uselessly.

“Theo,” He whined, “Theo help, my shirt is eating me, I can’t breathe.” 

He absolutely could breathe, and he could’ve gotten out too if he’d been a little less tipsy and confused, but in a few moments of panic, he felt hands on his arms, pulling the shirt up over his head. He heard the shirt hit the floor where Theo threw it.

Liam let out a few deep breaths, before flopped backward onto the bed uselessly, arms raised out in a starfish.

“I thought I was going to die in that shirt,” He told Theo dramatically. He heard Theo snort in the dark but couldn’t see him.

Feeling around on the bed, Liam managed to find Theo’s body in the dark, shimmying over in the bed until he was curled into the side of him, an arm and a leg thrown over the other boy, his head rested on Theo’s chest. 

“Liam—” Theo began, but Liam shushed him. He tried to reach out to put a finger to Theo’s lips, but wound up smacking him in the face by accident instead.

“Go to sleep,” Liam whispered, before drifting off himself.


	5. You Are In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm over you!" "You're over me? When were you... under me?"

Theo’s eyes opened and he immediately wished they hadn’t. 

The light felt like it burned from through the window and Liam was still passed out on top of him. Theo had pyjama shorts and a singlet on (since he had gotten to bed on purpose), but Liam was still only wearing underwear. He made a point not to look at Liam's body, staring instead at the ceiling. Theo vaguely remembered helping him get into bed, but he didn’t remember much of the actual party itself. He remembered drinking – a lot. 

He remembered dancing with people, mostly people he didn’t know when it wasn’t Liam, since he was still struggling with feeling like he wasn’t really worth being with the pack as a whole, especially ones who weren’t there for his… redemption or whatever. 

He remembered doing shots with Hayden’s husband’s brother. He remembered briefly having a heart-to-heart with Derek about his own shit and being allowed to start over.

Then he remembered Liam waking him up. There was a whole gap in the middle that Theo couldn’t account for, which was deeply troubling, but not something he knew how to track. He checked his phone and found that he didn’t have any new messages, so he took that as a good sign.

He gently untangled himself from a loudly snoring Liam, who looked like he’d been hit by a truck for how wild his hair had gotten in his sleep (and probably at the wedding too). He gave him an affectionate, mildly judgemental smile. Liam didn’t stir and Theo was glad. He made his way to the shower slowly, keeping as quiet as possible as he got dressed in his most comfortable clothing and waited for the wolfsbane to wear off enough from him to heal from the hangover that was beating his head from the inside.

He glanced at the clock and, realising the breakfast buffet in the hotel was about to close, made his way down to the dining area. 

He slumped into the seat tiredly when someone put a hand on his back, just about scaring him to death. He turned, seeing Scott, who looked annoyingly chipper and normal, all things considered. He certainly didn’t look hungover, but now that Theo thought of it, he actually didn’t think he ever saw Scott drinking, just dancing with the rest of the pack and having fun.

Smart. This was why he was an Alpha and Theo wasn’t.

“How you doin’ this morning, buddy?” He asked, sympathetic, and Theo momentarily wondered how they’d gotten here. Had it really been so long ago that he had sunk his claws into Scott’s chest? Had it really been so long ago that he had betrayed them all, that they had watched as he fell to hell? Theo never got done feeling guilty, though he had apologised a thousand times, and he still wondered if any part of Scott still hated him.

Theo shrugged in response, “Depends, is it normal to feel like there’s an elephant in your head trying to pound its way out?” He asked.

Scott chuckled, and shook his head. 

“Where’s your boyfriend this morning?” 

“Liam’s still in bed.”

“I didn’t mean Liam.” 

Theo’s eyes shot up, more alert than he had been since he started drinking the previous day. What the hell did Scott know? Had Liam told him? Would he blame Theo now, think he was returning to his old ways by lying? Theo opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. No coherent thoughts formed. Should he deny it? Should he ask how he knew? Should he beg Scott not to hate him again? 

“I saw him last night.” Scott explained quietly and Theo’s eyes fell. He had been careful, but apparently not enough. “You guys broke up, right?”

Theo nodded slowly, pulling himself together enough to explain. “He… wasn’t happy about me agreeing to fake date Liam.” He supplied slowly, raising his shoulders in a shrug.

Grant had turned up and sent Theo a text he was outside. Theo had gone, feeling the dull dread in his stomach of knowing what was coming. He couldn’t blame Grant either. Theo had refused to say he was over Liam. He had refused to say he didn’t love him. He couldn’t say it without lying, and Theo tried not to do that these days. Except… about dating Liam, of course. 

He had told Theo that he knew he was in love with someone else, that he knew Theo wasn’t really over him. He said he had found Liam’s social media, that he had tried to see their friendship history and that it had been obvious. He said he didn’t like the person he became when he was jealous, and that he wasn’t going to fight for someone who didn’t want to be with him.

All in all, he didn’t seem too broken up about it, and Theo wondered whether Grant wasn’t really in love with him either. It was fine, they weren’t meant to be. But he’d told Theo he should at least try. At least have a go at something he clearly wanted so badly. Theo wondered what Grant would think if he knew what Theo had done to Liam in the past. The depth of his inadequacy when compared to the blue eyed werewolf.

Scott sighed, shaking Theo from his recollection, “Why haven’t you told him?” He asked. Theo was pretty sure he knew what Scott really meant. The conversation felt so weirdly secretive, but Theo felt vulnerable anyway. Only Scott seemed to know, but that was too many people. Nobody else had ever just outright asked him about it all like this. Nobody else had really even tried to have conversations with him about his own feelings. He supposed maybe that came with the territory. 

But Scott was Scott, and he cared too much about everyone, Liam included, not to be paying attention. 

Theo frowned at the ground, “He’s not interested, Scott.” He said quietly, “I’m just a friend who’s helping him out because he felt insecure. That’s it.” He shrugged, “I tried, okay? I spent years trying to… figure out how to make him look at me like that and he doesn’t. So I met someone else who did… but then…”

“But then he realised you were in love with someone else and he broke things off?” Scott filled in. Theo nodded, staring at the ground.

“He drove all the way out here to do it in person. To give me a chance to… I don’t know, go after him, I guess. I told him it wasn’t like that, that it wasn’t going to happen, but he didn’t believe me. He said we both deserved a chance to be with someone who really, really loved us and who we really, really loved.” He swallowed. “He found me and told me it was over. He was right though—he deserves better than this. He was always too nice for me.”

Theo still felt too much regret, and the idea of hurting someone else was not a pleasant one. But when Theo and Grant got together, he’d truly convinced himself he was over Liam. He’d truly thought he was ready to move on. And while he felt guilty about how it all happened with Grant, he knew it was for the best. He didn’t want to tell Liam though, didn’t want him to feel guilty for Theo getting dumped.

“He’s not too nice for you.” Scott said finally, “He’s just not right for you.” His voice was soft, reassuring. Theo could feel tears welling in his eyes, because he knew he didn’t deserve this.

“Scott, I killed you.” He said quietly.

“I was there.” He said with a slow nod. “But it doesn’t take a genius to know that you’ve changed. It’s been nearly a decade. I’m not going to say what you did was okay, because it wasn’t. It wasn’t justified and that responsibility to leave more good in the world than bad will never go away. But you’re not that guy anymore. You’ve saved people. You’ve saved Liam. He trusts you, and he’s his own Alpha now. You need to stop convincing yourself you don’t deserve to be happy, because you’re only going to end up hurting people you love by doing it. No one wants to see you hurt yourself. Not even me.”

Theo roughly wiped a tear away from his cheek as it fell. “Do me a favour and just don’t tell anyone I have feelings, okay? I have a reputation to uphold.” He joked.

Theo could remember being a kid. Being nine and being cut open. Being ten and being experimented on. Being twelve and being jealous of all the things he didn’t have. Being seventeen and sent off to kill his childhood best friend. Being eighteen and being brought back from the dead. Being twenty and realising he was in love with his saviour. Now, at twenty-four, he sat across from his childhood best friend turned enemy turned reluctant ally turned friend again, he couldn’t help but wonder how he’d gotten here. How he’d been lucky enough to be someone Scott deigned worth saving. Worth helping. Worth loving his first Beta.

“Dude, no offence, but no you don’t. Everyone believed you were dating Liam. The whole week. Nobody thinks you’re some cold, emotionless monster anymore.” 

Theo nodded slowly. He knew that was true.

“I am sorry.” Theo said in a soft voice. 

“Damn, Theo, you already drunk dialled me to say sorry a thousand times, you don’t need to do it again in person too.” Scott laughed.

“Drunk dialled?” He repeated, confused. Then it hit him. He had. After Grant had dumped him, Theo had started drinking. He had started going hard. At some point, he had wandered outside and started calling people. He knew he had called Scott. He knew he had apologised; he knew he had said some stuff to him.

He knew he’d called quite a few people to apologise. But the one that was completely gone right up till this second was… 

“Fuck.” Theo got to his feet and took off sprinting down the hall towards their hotel room. He remembered now. He remembered what he’d said. 

He clattered through the doors into the room, where Liam was exiting the toilet, wearing only a towel around his waist, his hair still wet and his eyes looking especially blue (albeit a little red, likely from the hangover). Theo was feeling better now, but he had been awake for a while at this point, Liam looked like he’d woken up and rolled into the shower.

In his hand was his phone, and Theo wondered if he could grab it and break it before Liam ever heard the message. But then he heard his own slurring voice and he took off sprinting again, bounding over the giant bed and diving onto Liam, tackling him to the floor. 

He tried to grab the phone, but Liam held it just out of his reach, seemingly having caught onto what was happening at some point.

“You were the only thing I ever really loved. The first thing I ever really loved,” Theo’s own drunken voice slurred in his ears as he wrestled Liam for the phone, dread now like a knife in his heart. Liam was never going to speak to him again after this. It was going to change everything. 

“I’ve spent years – years! – obsessed with you! I followed you around waiting for you to touch me and you always ran away from me!” Theo wanted the ground to open up and pull him under again, his own heart be damned. 

“Well guess what, Liam, I am over you!” His own voice shouted. It was too late now. The damage was done. Theo clambered to his feet, jumping back across the hotel room until he was turning towards the door. He just had his hand on it when…

“You’re over me?” Liam’s voice was soft, quiet and confused, and Theo couldn’t walk away even if he wanted to. “When were you… under me?” 

Theo wondered how hard he’d have to bang his head to just knock himself out and not have to deal with this.

“I… Look, it’s nothing, Liam, we don’t have to talk about this. I was really drunk and it’s stupid and…” He trailed off, “And I don’t feel that way anymore, so…” 

Liam was silent and Theo wished he could make his hand open the door so he could just move out of here and leave the awkwardness behind. He got the door open, finally, but then it closed again, ripped right out of his hand by Liam, who was now right next to him, right up in his space, half naked.

He had this horrible, sad-puppy look on his face and Theo could tell he was about to be let down gently. He needed to get the hell out of here. 

“Listen, Theo,” He was still trying to make a run for it, but Liam had him basically trapped against the closed door now, so he wasn’t getting anywhere. He stared at Liam’s forehead, knowing if he looked at his lips or at his eyes, he’d be totally screwed. 

“Liam…”

“No, shut up, listen to me. I felt really bad about what happened, about making you do this, about your pants, so I bought an extra night in the hotel.” He was quick to add, “Not for me! For you and Grant. I even got an upgrade, and a bottle of champagne because I know he’s human and… and I’m just really sorry. For being blind and stupid and also for dragging you into all this. But I can call Grant and explain and tell him to come up here and you guys can have a romantic night and—” 

“He dumped me.” Theo cut in, unable to spend one more second listening to Liam being far too good for him.

“And I’ll make sure he—” He stopped, his brows furrowing. Theo had lost his own bet with himself, because now he was looking into Liam’s troubled blue eyes and he thought he might cry. He was too good, too nice. Sure, he was chaotic and kind of an idiot, but he was good. Deep down to his core. Theo would never deserve him, and he would never get over him. There was no going back now. 

Liam had been his first love, his first time, his first real kiss that had been just for the sake of kissing and not to follow through on some plan. 

“I don’t understand.” Liam said finally, “Why would he do that? Is it because of me? Fuck, Theo, I’m so sorry, I can call him or I can give you space and leave you alone or—or I can—” 

But Liam was cut off by Theo, who couldn’t help himself anymore. Liam wasn’t breathing for all his ranting and he looked like he might cry from guilt. Theo just wanted to kiss him. Even if it was the last time ever, he just wanted to do it. Because as annoying and oblivious and chaotic as Liam was, Theo loved him so much. He had only ever wanted to keep him safe and be close to him, whatever the personal cost. 

Liam didn’t kiss back for a moment, and Theo felt guilt building. It was always Liam who started these things. He was always the one to make a first move, Theo never could work up the courage and his brain kept reminding him what he’d done to Liam and Scott, that he had no right to close the gap between them. 

He started to pull back away, but Liam was grabbing the back of his head, threading his fingers into his hair and Theo was pulled back into the kiss.

Every other kiss they’d had had been burning. Felt like fire and anger and passion and a playful struggle for control. This wasn’t that.

This was… soft. It was familiar and affectionate and slow and Liam gently nudged Theo back till his back was against the door and Theo went willingly, totally pliant under Liam’s influence. This was so much better. This felt right. This wasn’t fighting for their lives and barely escaping in one piece, this was movie nights throwing popcorn at each other. This wasn’t blood and broken noses, this was baking together at 3am. 

Theo wasn’t sure how he’d ever believed he could ever love anybody but Liam.

There was only ever Liam. Liam’s eyes, Liam’s voice, Liam’s smile. Liam’s forgiveness, Liam’s acceptance.

When Liam pulled away from him, Theo felt as if he couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t last long, because then he was speaking.

“You told me it was a mistake.” Liam said softly, and Theo took a minute to regain himself enough to make sense of the words.

“Huh?”

“That first time, in the backseat of your truck. You told me it was a mistake.” 

Theo understood, but he wished he didn’t. “I thought I was doing the right thing,” His voice was quiet and breathy. “I thought you would regret it, be ashamed in front of your friends… I thought… I thought I was doing you a favour by making it so you didn’t… owe me something.”

Then Liam was kissing him again and leading him to the bed and Theo was going with him and what had once been rushed and fierce and intense was gentle and soft and loving. 

Theo didn’t think he’d ever been touched that way before.

When it was all over, Theo waited. Some part of him waited for Liam to leave, to decide it was too hard, that he was done. To disappear like he always had, but Liam didn’t move.

“I didn’t think you were a mistake. I never thought you were a mistake.” He said quietly. “I only ever left because I thought you just saw me as…”

“A piece of ass?” Theo supplied, breaking the mood. They both laughed. Probably too hard for the joke, which wasn’t really that funny. 

“Seriously. I didn’t think I’d be enough for you.”

There was a moment of silence before Theo answered.

“Liam, you absolute idiot… you are… everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed, hope it wasn't too messy or cringey!


End file.
